PeterR

Some personal observations when I made that journey.

I am a lover of technique - in an Aikido dojo I can tell you every nuance of every technique (well I like to think so). When I started training in Judo it was just the opposite. Oh I tried to do the same but in the end I just did not care. What I did find myself constantly doing was thinking how to adapt the Aikido waza to this new situation.

I personally think I was much better at Judo randori than the Shodokan version of Aikido randori. Not sure why exactly but perhaps I do better once I actually have hold of somebody. Maybe I tend to think to much. All I can say that after I entered a Judo grading competition ( 5 months later) and took my Shodan my Aikido randori improved dramatically. It was not just vetting my skills it was validating.